Step 2 Ck –The Final Thorn of My Student Life!

My Step 2 CK Prep took a grand total of 4 months and 10 days. It began right after Step 1 exam in March and continued into the crunch time through to mid-July. As ECFMG brought forward the last acceptable date for appearing in exams to be in time for the Match, a rush situation developed, compelling students to appear for exams somewhere in July. I was luckier to have more liberty in my schedule and not immediately affected by the change.


I started off on CK barely a week after appearing for Step 1. Regardless of how much time you have, I think that is still the right thing to do. Delaying exams out of intimidation only puts you in a worse position than you began with. On the actual exam day, it’s just you sitting in front of a machine making crucial decisions, and so having a positive and go-getting attitude to it from the beginning is important. Do not procrastinate; do not be intimidated and do not put it away for a better time. There will seldom going to be a better time than your present.

If you stick to a solid plan for the entire months of your preparation, I can almost guarantee success. The plan itself reflects on the type of person you are -whether you prefer to bite on the tough cookie first or gobble the easier fruits, whether you are a deep reader or a thorough notemaker, or if you like texts or multimedia. The plans should be tailored to your preferences and should maximize your own strengths. But by adhering to and monitoring whatever plan you make, and by finishing off tasks promptly, you can achieve speeds that will defy any expectations of your colleagues.

The biggest challenge of Step 2 CK would be to develop the ability to rapidly take on information and chew on it. In order to do that, two qualities need to be honed: First, there is the Receptivity part -being good at rapidly reading and absorbing information. And then, there is the Processing part -simultaneously extracting the hints and developing the overall picture. The moment you shut down either of these two processes, things will start to go wrong.

Either you may end up thinking too much about a phrase or set of symptoms, ignoring to be receptive to the easier hints that followed, or you may simply start scanning the question word by word without adequately processing it in your head. This realization formed the basis of my CK Strategy.

My Two-Pronged Strategy for Step 2CK
My two-pronged strategy had two components: first was to speed my ability to read, absorb and picture information without saccadically scanning the words. I may be late in being able to do this, but getting this skill was a radical transformation for me. Step 2 CK is the final point for any medical student to be able read above and beyond the lines and extracting the idea.

The second component was the more conventional part -be able to relate new scenario to existing knowledge. The core of developing this ability is to read texts thoughtfully. The more animated, well explained and lively your study discussions and discourse becomes, more you start connectingdifferent subjects imagine different clinical scenarios. With this constant studying gig, you will start to notice the difference in your ability to rapidly relate questions stems to existing knowledge.
 
I will be breaking down both components of my strategy as I write more on this blog. Stay tuned, Like my Page on Facebook or subscribe to RSS and you will be the first to know my tips (or just drop a comment and I’ll just reach back!)













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